NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6914

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 26, 2025	referred to judiciary

co-Sponsors

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Real Property Law
Laws Affected:: Add §226-d, RP L

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the rental assistance payment standard pilot program where the owner of a housing accommodation shall be entitled to charge and collect a rent equal to the maximum amount that the rental assistance program prescribes for like housing accommodations, subject to rent reasonableness calculations.

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6914

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property law, in relation to the rental assist-
ance payment standard pilot program; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide improved access to permanent housing for low-income house-
holds with a rental assistance payment housing voucher. The bill aims to
enhance housing availability and improve housing quality for rental
voucher recipients while also preserving the affordable housing stock by
keeping apartments subject to rent regulations and maintaining low legal
rents for future tenancies.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill creates the Rental Assistance Payment Standard (RAPS) pilot
program, which allows rental voucher recipients to use their full vouch-

er amount to find housing.

Section 1: Adds a new Section 226-d to the Real Property Law that estab-
lishes the RAPS pilot program.

Section 226-d, paragraph 1, establishes the ability of a housing provid-
er participating in the RAPS pilot program to collect the approved hous-
ing voucher amount as rent, subject to rent reasonableness requirements,
notwithstanding local rent regulation restrictions.

Section 226-d, paragraph 2, establishes eligibility requirements for
apartments to qualify for RAPS, including that the unit must be regis-
tered as vacant with the state housing agency in 2025 and subsequently
rented to a tenant receiving a housing voucher.

Section 226-d, paragraph 3, establishes that the legal regulated rent
for the unit shall not be increased by the rent amount collected during
participation in the RAPS program. Once the unit no longer qualifies for
RAPS, the legal regulated rent is reinstated.

Section 2: Sets forth the pilot program's effective date and expiration
date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the NYU Furman Center, tenant-based rental housing vouchers
are one of the most effective way to address housing affordability
issues for low-income households. Their 2024 report indicates that 90%
of voucher holders experience no rent-burden.  However, nearly half of
all new voucher recipients are unsuccessful in finding housing and lose
their voucher. Meanwhile, the New York City Housing Authority re-opened
its waitlist in 2024, and hoped to issue 1,000 new vouchers per month in
2025, but the lack of available housing for voucher recipients has frus-
trated these intentions. This pilot program incentivizes property owners
with vacant apartments to participate in rental assistance voucher
programs by allowing them to accept voucher rents up to the program's
prescribed amount as long as the unit is rented to a voucher recipient.
By temporarily adjusting rent limitations while maintaining long-term
regulatory protections, this legislation promotes fair housing opportu-
nities and increased access to housing for households with rental vouch-
ers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal fiscal impact is anticipated, as this program relies on existing
rental assistance funding streams.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and expire on June 15, 2027, with
protections for rental agreements entered into before that date.

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6914
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 26, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the rental assist-
   ance payment standard pilot program; and providing for the  repeal  of
   such provisions upon expiration thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding  a  new  section
 226-d to read as follows:
   §  226-D.  RENTAL  ASSISTANCE PAYMENT STANDARD PILOT PROGRAM. 1. WHERE
 THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION ARE SATISFIED, THE OWNER OF  A  HOUSING
 ACCOMMODATION  SHALL  BE  ENTITLED TO CHARGE AND COLLECT A RENT EQUAL TO
 THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT THAT THE RENTAL  ASSISTANCE  PROGRAM  PRESCRIBES  FOR
 LIKE  HOUSING  ACCOMMODATIONS,  SUBJECT  TO  RENT  REASONABLENESS CALCU-
 LATIONS, NOTWITHSTANDING THAT SUCH RENTAL AMOUNT MIGHT EXCEED RENT LIMI-
 TATIONS UNDER ANY OTHER APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.
   2. A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL  BE  SUBJECT  TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF
 SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF THIS SECTION IF THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION IS REGIS-
 TERED AS VACANT WITH THE STATE HOUSING AGENCY FOR REGISTRATION YEAR  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-FIVE  AND IS SUBSEQUENTLY RENTED TO A TENANT WHO IS THE
 RECIPIENT OF A RENTAL ASSISTANCE  HOUSING  VOUCHER  UNDER  ANY  FEDERAL,
 STATE, OR LOCAL PROGRAM, AND SUCH RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS PROVIDED PURSUANT
 TO  A  PAYMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE OWNER AND APPLICABLE HOUSING AGENCY
 WITH RESPECT TO THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION. ONLY  HOUSING  ACCOMMODATIONS
 IN BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED PRIOR TO JANUARY FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED SEVEN-
 TY-FOUR SHALL BE ELIGIBLE.
   3.  WHERE A RENT PRESCRIBED BY A RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION EXCEEDS THE LEGAL REGULATED RENT,  PREF-
 ERENTIAL  RENT,  OR  MAXIMUM  COLLECTIBLE RENT FOR SUCH HOUSING ACCOMMO-
 DATION, SUCH LEGAL REGULATED RENT, PREFERENTIAL RENT, OR MAXIMUM COLLEC-
 TIBLE RENT SHALL BE PRESERVED AND  REGISTERED  WITH  THE  STATE  HOUSING
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11281-01-5

 S. 6914                             2
 
 AGENCY, AS APPLICABLE, SUBJECT TO ANY INCREASES ALLOWED BY LAW AS IF THE
 APARTMENT  WERE RENTED IN THE NORMAL COURSE DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
 THE LEGAL RENT SHALL BE REINSTATED, SUBJECT TO ANY ALLOWABLE  INCREASES,
 WHEN  THE  HOUSING  ACCOMMODATION  IS  NO  LONGER  SUBJECT TO THE RENTAL
 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
 deemed  repealed  June  15,  2027, except that any housing accommodation
 with a vacancy lease start date before June 15, 2027 shall  continue  to
 be  covered  by  this  act  for as long as such housing accommodation is
 occupied by a tenant  with  a  rental  assistance  housing  voucher  and
 covered by a payment agreement with a government entity.

Comments

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Benjamin_Cavicchio

1 day ago

Good intention but needs to ensure that the voucher rent applies for the term of the tenancy and any succession regardless of voucher status. Rent should only reset to legal rent after vacancy. Otherwise if a tenant loses their voucher for any reason they would be able to stay in the apartment at the lower legal rent. Many landlords will not take that risk if that legal rent is too low to be profitable and will instead continue to leave units vacant.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S6914

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6914

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Sponsored By

Leroy Comrie

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

co-Sponsors

Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.

Jeremy Cooney

Monica R. Martinez

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S6914 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments